The pan-African flag (also known as the Afro-American flag, Black Liberation flag, UNIA flag, and various other names) is an ethnic flag representing pan-Africanism, the African diaspora, and/or black nationalism. A tri-color flag, it consists of three equal horizontal bands of (from top down) red, black, and green. The flag was likely influenced by the older Pan-African colors, substituting yellow for black to promote racial pride.
The flag was created as a response to racism against African Americans in 1920 with the help of Marcus Garvey. The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) formally adopted it on August 13, 1920, in Article 39 of the Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World, during its month-long convention at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Variations of the flag can and have been used in various countries and territories in the Americas to represent Garveyist ideologies.
